Hassan Nahon urges Govt to investigate GHA survey claims

Independent MP Marlene Hassan Nahon has called on the Gibraltar Government to investigate a ‘worrying assessment’ of job dissatisfaction among GHA doctors.

Mrs Hassan Nahon’s response follows a recent survey conducted by a GHA doctor that concluded low morale was a result of bad management.

She said an investigation would give a clear view of the issues at hand and provide Health Minister Neil Costa with the necessary information to develop an effective action plan.

Although agreeing with the Gibraltar Government’s view that the survey was inaccurate, she added this “does not mean that the sentiment behind the results is wrong.”

In a press statement Mrs Hassan Nahon described how the recent report confirmed testimonies told to her directly by dissatisfied doctors and highlighted strain within the health authority’s structure.

“This worrying assessment of the state of morale within the agency, as well as of relationships with management, echoes many of the testimonies which have been communicated to me by disaffected and dissatisfied doctors, information which I have already shared with the government as part of my handling of the issue,” Mrs Hassan Nahon said.

“This material seems to indicate that there are strains in some sectors of the structure of the GHA, and the government would do well to heed this.”

“Indeed, one of the most common complaints I have come across when speaking to doctors is that they often feel that they are not been listened to by management, and to discard this sentiment would only validate such frustrations.”

Mrs Hasson Nahon added she is keen to share her findings in an attempt to improve the service and welcomed the GSD drawing attention to these issues.

“Doctors and nurses are among a community’s most precious resources, and one dissatisfied member of staff is simply one too many,” she said.

“As concerns can be legitimately raised about the robustness and validity of the results produced by this survey, I call on the government to carry out a detailed, wide-ranging and frank evidence-gathering exercise that fully encompasses the many different sectors of the GHA in order to gain an accurate picture of the issues which may be affecting the very workers who we should be supporting, with the findings and results of this exercise made publicly available,” she said.